Ash and Fire
by Harmonization
Summary: A one shot following Hades and Persephone. The story occurs after their six month separation of Spring and Summer and the anticipation of their reunion. Fluffy. Complete!


Author's Note: Hello everyone reading this! This idea just came to me and I HAD to write it out. I LOVE Greek mythology, especially the story of Persephone and Hades. I sat wondering what the gods on Olympus and in the Underworld would be like with their interactions with each other, especially the anticipation of Hades and Persephone seeing each other again after a long separation. Probably because I'm in much the same situation at the moment. I also do not have a Beta so all mistakes are my own.

Please let me know what you think and if you'd like to see other stories like this in the future. Thank you so much! Please review/ DM me!

~oOo~

Hades signed in exasperation. "And what exactly are you asking of me?"

The mortal before him trembled and fell to his knees as a sign of his respect and fear for him. "Please, your majesty. I wish to go back to the mortal realm."

The mental power within Hades was immense to prevent the eventual eye roll that was threatening to overtake him. _Why couldn't he have just come out and said that in the first place? _He thought. He was irritated this mortal was even trying to evade him to begin with. Hades replaced the eye roll by narrowing them instead.

"I see no reason why I should return you." Hades said, reviewing the man's life as the mortal bowed prone to Hades, trembling from head to foot. "Furthermore, I'm surprised you have the audacity to address me in such a manner."

With a motion of his hand, Hades opened a door at the end of the throne room, bathing their path in a sliver of light. He could hear the delightful sounds of happy souls living the rest of their days in the Elysian Fields, without a care in the world.

The panic flashed across the mortal's face as he inched closer to the throne. "Please, your majesty! It's for my wife!"

His attention piqued, Hades paused for a moment and waved his hand after an infinite second to cease the opening of the Fields. When mortals first laid eyes on the wonderful light of the Elysian Fields, they couldn't help themselves but to go to what would obviously be a better life. Why was this mortal begging to return to his suffering?

"…Proceed." Hades commanded, gesturing to the mortal before him to plead his case. _I really hope he keeps the groveling to a minimum. Fat chance with how this whole ordeal started…_

"Your majesty…" the mortal bent down as low as he could in a respectful bow. When he came back up, there were unshed tears in his eyes. "My wife your majesty. She is ill." A choking sob escaped his lips. "We have no one else in our family and I was murdered as I made the trek to the nearby town to fetch her medicine. She has no idea where I am or when I am to return and she cannot fend for herself, especially with winter on its way."

Hades scoffed at the fool. "If she is as ill as you say she is, then she will join you in the underworld in due time. No sense in begging me to save her for you."

"Please, your Majesty—"

"ENOUGH!" Hades commanded, his booming voice echoing off the ceiling of the throne room. The entire structure shook by the sheer power emanating from Hades. "You will NOT cheat yourself out of death!"

The mortal cowered. "It is not that kind of illness." He said in a quiet voice, shaking violently.

The silence that followed was deafening, even to Hades' ears. He was pissed that this mortal wanted to evade death, but yet again, his curiosity was getting the better of him.

Hades slowly stood from his throne, and descended the steps toward the mortal bowing before him on the floor. The man stared at the movement in shock before throwing himself down on the ground, his nose pressed against the cold stone, before Hades stopped a mere inch from his face. The mortal cowered in on himself, attempting to appear as small as possible.

Hades grabbed the man by the scrap of shirt he was wearing. He whispered so quietly, the very growling sound that escaped his throat was dangerous. "And what makes you think that would make me care? Why even try?"

Swallowing, the man straightened up in spite of his fear. Hades could feel him shaking underneath his hands. "Because, she is all I have. And despite her being ill, she will not die. She is ill in the mind and the soul. The only solace she has is through me and the flowers in the spring. Surly, you would understand the devotion a husband would have to his wife?"

He stared into the mortal's eyes and followed a stray tear as it slid down his face. _Damn this mortal._ Hades' stomach clenched painfully at his words at the mention of the flowers of Spring and the devotion the mortal held for his wife. It was a low blow in Hades' opinion, but he could not deny that no truer words had been spoken. And if this mortal's wife found solace in the creations of Persephone, maybe she was worth saving in light of the praise his wife would receive.

The man's lips trembled from his fear and display of vulnerability. If it were at all possible, Hades lowered his voice even more. "I could throw you into Tartarus for this…"

The man only nodded; a jerky motion that would cause any mortal to become dizzy. "I had to try." He whispered.

Hades narrowed his eyes and released his shirt. When he turned his back to the mortal, he folded his hands together and gently fingered the ring that had made its home there for the past few thousand years.

Making up his mind, Hades turned around slowly, menacingly. "I will give you your chance." Hades said quietly.

The man gasped and began sobbing, choking on his tears. "Your Majesty! Thank yo—"

"However…" Hades interrupted. The man closed his mouth and quieted instantly. "You must do something for me first."

"Anything, Your Majesty." The man said instantly.

Hades breathed in deeply. "I will not simply grant you a second chance. While I admit your life was taken from you, you have done nothing to prove that you should be worthy to return. Therefore, you must earn it. Travel to Atlantis, to the Realm of my Brother, Poseidon." Hades paused, making sure the mortal was absorbing his words. "From there, you must bring me a piece of his Trident."

The mortal was dumbstruck. "A piece of Poseidon's Trident?" He looked around desperately. "How will you—"

"I will know instantly." Hades interrupted. "No need to worry yourself there."

The silence hung in the air like a thick veil that fell from the sky. The mortal swallowed. "That is…"

"Impossible. Yes." Hades said, walking back in the direction of the Mortal, evaluating his reactions with each menacing step. "So, your choices are: walk to the Elysian Fields and wait for your wife to join you, knowing that she will suffer for years, or attempt to bring me a piece of Poseidon's Trident, which you have already deemed impossible."

The man shook his head in a panic. "Please, Pluteon—"

"Perhaps if he has it in him to pity you, he will help you." Hades didn't know why he said it, but his heart went out to the mortal, begging to be returned.

Silence stretched once again before the mortal stood up defiantly. "I will bring you a piece of the Trident."

Hades narrowed his eyes skeptically, nodded, and sent the mortal on his way.

Once the mortal was gone, Hades sighed and sat back down on his throne, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Since when have you been so soft hearted to give mortals like him a chance like that?" Hades turned to the source of the voice and saw Thanatos staring at him from the side, his long dark hair shrouding his face as he looked at Hades with slight amusement. "You've grown soft."

Hades rolled his eyes in exasperation and snorted through his nose. "You know his quest is impossible."

Thanatos returned the amused gesture. "Certainly, but it's still a chance. A fool's errand, definitely. But, you gave him hope."

"Yes…" Hades looked down to his hands and his eyes fell on his wedding band, but the god of death wasn't finished remarking on Hades' odd behavior. "I'm surprised you gave him a chance after the disaster of what happened with Orpheus and Eurydice."

"You know that was my wife's decision." Hades said. "And there's no way in hell I would go against her." Thanatos silently agreed and followed the direction that Hades' gaze had landed previously and stared on with amusement.

He cleared his throat. "These were on the shore of Styx today." Thanatos said, drawing Hades' attention back to him. The god of death produced some of the most beautiful flowers Hades had seen. "These are especially beautiful this year." Thanatos said on his behalf when an odd silence engulfed them.

Hades gently grasped the small bouquet. The flowers were an array of different colors and types, yet glowed from the power of their beauty. Their soft floral scent seemed to come off in waves of spiraling goodness, catching his nose as they wafted upwards. Hades closed his eyes and breathed in their scent. A scent that was all too familiar to him. His heart clenched painfully again.

Thanatos looked on sadly as he watched Hades with the flowers. The unspoken words filling the air as the god of the underworld had a very private moment on his throne.

The two shared in the comfort of the silence for a minute before Hades voice permeated the air. His voice broke. "She is the fire I so desperately need."

"And you are the ash." Thanatos said.

Curiosity and skepticism overtaking Hades' mind and providing a sound distraction, he gave him an incredulous look. "Ash?"

"Yes," Thanatos agreed. "She is bright and powerful and…"

"Destructive." Hades supplied.

"Quite." Thanatos agreed, chuckling nervously. "and you are borne into yourself when she is around, feeding off one another and balancing each other out in a way no other god has even attempted. She's not afraid to be near you and you're not afraid to see her for what she really is. It's the perfect combination."

Hades peered down to the flowers again. "These must have wilted in her field today."

Silence hung in the air again, when Thanatos drew in a breath and sighed. He had finished his work in the mortal realm before meeting with Hades after a special request from Hermes to deliver the flowers. He was always making such deliveries and experienced this often with Hades. "I'm turning in." Thanatos sighed. "It's been a long day."

"Yes." Hades sighed. "It'll be nice to relax." After a pause, Hades asked, "What month is it in the mortal realm?"

Thinking back to his day, Thanatos said, "I believe it is what they call, December."

"Excellent." Hades said. _Three more weeks of hell. _

~oOo~

Hades could feel the bubbling anticipation within his chest. Today was finally the day that his wife would return to him. Six long awaited months without her arms around him felt like torture to his very soul the longer he had to wait.

The last three weeks had passed by in agonizing slowness, to the point that he wondered if Zeus had been successful in slowing down time, just to mess with him.

This time of year was always the most frustrating for him. On one hand, he still had the underworld to rule. He always tried to be fair and just when it came to the mortals that came to him. He punished when Punishment was due, and he guided the mortals to their fates, just as he was supposed to.

But he took Persephone as his wife for a reason. She found him that day in The Underworld and saw him for who he truly was. And she didn't care.

Of course, she cared, but she didn't care about the ongoing stigma of his job in The Underworld. She saw past all that. She was the breath of fresh air that he so desperately needed to fill his lungs. Persephone became everything to him, and often reminded him that he was more than just the god of the Underworld. That he had so much more to offer. And every time she left him for those six months of the year, the air he was so used to promptly leaves and he is left suffocating on the putrid fumes of the Underworld. A place where he will always be known as the worst of all gods.

He was lonely. And he married her despite being terrified that she would come to hate him. Yet, she always returned, and she loved him just as much as he loved her.

The only problem was that the longer she was gone, the more he longed for her.

He knew that the ache in his heart was only a reminder that he loved her, but it reached a ridiculous height when complete strangers and even mortals passing through began to look like her upon first glance.

And the biggest struggle of all was having a perfectly normal day, and having a moment that he so desperately wanted to share with her, together, and knowing they couldn't.

Despite all his attempts to convince Demeter otherwise, she wouldn't budge on letting her daughter stay in the Underworld all year. Demeter would often blackmail her daughter and Zeus, saying that she couldn't handle the responsibility of summer and spring alone; that she needed the extra hands of Persephone. It was infuriating to know that Demeter had such a strong hold over her daughter.

In Hades' mind, it was bullshit. But he knew Persephone missed her mother regardless of the goddess's temper tantrums, and she felt a strong responsibility to her and the mortals in their realm.

And so, Hades stood waiting at the gates of the Underworld to welcome his wife home. Anticipating her return and feeling the clock slowing with each passing second.

While the anticipation of her return ate away at him, his face remained as stoic as ever and was set in its hard lines that the rest of the Underworld and Olympus normally saw in him. He despised everything else, except her.

After the long months of awaiting her return, he felt vulnerable. And in hindsight, it was probably why he felt pity toward the mortal from three weeks ago. He showed him mercy, because deep down, he knew Persephone's heart would reach out to him. _Getting soft indeed. _

He should have punished the mortal for the audacity of his pleas, yet he couldn't help but give him the chance. Hades continued to be a walking contradiction, much like his wife; the embodiment of Spring and the Bringer of Death. Everything he could possibly need.

Hades peered down at his watch again. The face showed the planets hanging in a stasis in what seemed to be the same position as twenty minutes ago. Any minute now. He was glad he had cleared the entrance of nymphs and other gods because his heavy breathing was borderline hyperventilating, and damn anyone who would see him in such a state.

The slightest movement would trigger such a strong reaction in his body that he felt it could cripple him to the ground, such were the painful lurches in his stomach and chest any time he thought she would begin her descent into his arms.

Just as he felt he couldn't possibly wait another second, the gates to his realm opened.

Even with seeing the Elysian Fields every day, nothing could compare to the happiness that coursed through his body when he saw her stepping down to the Underworld after their excruciatingly long few months apart. Hades forced his teeth together into a painful clench as he forced his heel into the ground to keep himself from moving.

The light blocked her from view until she reached the steps halfway, and then her beauty and radiance flooded his senses. Her long, flowing red hair came down in tresses, held together by a crown made of her plaits. Flowers were placed within and her dress flowed with the grace of the wind.

Much to his delight, she was coming down the steps in a quick march, bouncing as she did so. As soon as Persephone's gaze landed on Hades, her lips turned into a radiant smile and she burst into a run. Hades saw the change as her mortal clothes wrapped around her body in a haze and quickly changed to the black dress he was so used to seeing her in, her Crown of the Underworld shooting up from her hair as she came into her home. Her running was graceful, even as tall black heels appeared on her feet.

Nothing else in that moment existed. Hades broke into a run and helped close the distance between them, pulling her into an embrace and burying his face into her shoulder, smelling the sweet scent of her that teased him a mere three weeks ago.

The Underworld wasn't such a bad place when Persephone was with him, and all his worries and heartaches melted away as he pulled away and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips, tasting her for the first time since they parted. _Distance really does make the heart grow fonder. _

When they parted, Hades felt his heart sing in triumph at the sound of her angelic voice, as it threatened to pound out of his chest. Persephone was heaving deep breaths. "I've missed you." Her tears were freely streaming down her face.

Hades could feel his voice shaking. "By the gods, I didn't think I could go another day without you."

Persephone laughed, her sing-song voice ringing through the air as they watched the gates close behind her. "And here you stood, as menacing as ever."

Unable to help himself, Hades chuckled and pulled her tight to him once again. "The only thing I care about is you." He breathed in her scent again and pouted slightly when she pulled away to peer into his eyes.

"How strange," she began, brushing the hair that had fallen in his eyes. "Yet how wonderful, to be loved by something that hates all else."

Hades' gaze softened considerably. "I live for you, and you alone." Still holding onto her waist from their previous embrace, Hades lifted his other hand up to gently outline the side of her face with his fingers, using the lightest of touches, almost afraid that she may disappear if he handled her too roughly.

He felt fire in his soul. Persephone was his fire and Hades was the ashes. Her temper fueled her destruction, yet also gave way in the subtle arts of her powers in the spring. Fire cleansed the ground to set forth the possibility of new life. Any seed she sowed, would always come back to follow them in the fall when she returned. That much life was always followed by death. And Hades would be there to soften the blow of each passing life that she would gift to him. A gift they could share together.

They ended their embrace, feeling as though it should have lasted much longer and lingering as they separated, and began walking together in the direction of their home, arm in arm and leaning against each other.

As vibrant as ever, Persephone turned to her husband. "So dear, what has changed down here since Spring began?"

Hades took in a breath and replaced his stoic mask. "Honestly…nothing." Persephone shot him a look that read 'you literally did nothing in my absence?' when he amended, "Oh wait. I did send a mortal on a quest."

"You what?" asked Persephone, shocked at the admission. "I thought we agreed not to send mortals on any more quests after Orpheus?"

"Yes, well," Hades began, choosing his words carefully and squeezing her hand. "I guess I was feeling-."

"Sentimental?" She supplied with a sly smile.

Hades scoffed. "That is most certainly not what I said."

Persephone poked him in the chest playfully with her free hand, pushing him gently to the side as she smiled up at him. "Oh, just admit it, dear. You're a big ol' softy."

The gesture alone earned Persephone an admonishing smirk. "Now sweetheart, you wouldn't want to ruin my image, would you?" _Funny you should say that actually. _

Her laughed echoed once again through the air. The sound was intoxicating. The fluttering in his chest refused to die down, even with her in his grasp. She had come to him once again, and he would cling to her until they parted once more.

And together, the fire would rise from the ashes.


End file.
